Rimworld fan fiction: Phoenix Rising
by NewRoman
Summary: On the edge of the Milky Way galaxy lies a quadrant of space containing the isolated rim worlds. Venture with the crew of the Phoenix as they discover the wreckage of an abandoned rim world colony. Please note that all material in this work was inspired by the game Rimworld by Tynan Sylvester. I will be using this story as a backdrop for my next play through in the Rimworld univers


Captain Adrian Belrose looked out of the observation deck of his pride and joy _The Phoenix._ The gruff middle aged captain felt a tinge of fear as he gazed down upon yet another rim world. The great unknown reaches of space always stirred up a sense of foreboding within the otherwise calm officer. From the outside the captain struck an imposing figure, he had a well-groomed mid-size beard that completed the circuit between his ears. His eyes were slightly sunken and had developed tiny bruised bags under his dark eyes. A weather worn face was capped off with a slightly too large nose, and to top it all off he wore his oversized naval officer's cap. Every feature of Captain Belrose cried out experience and a myriad of life lessons. Yet even the captain balked at the unknown. A fear we all share.

"Captain, we are ready to begin the bombardment of the scarab infestation." First Lieutenant Madreaux stated with a firm commanding voice. The captain responded with his usual poise "Alright, warm up the gauss cannons. I want this clean and efficient." The well-trained gunnery crew quickly manipulated their control panels to activate the twin railed high velocity planetary bombardment cannon. The familiar whir of the kinetic energy generators permeated the spacious command deck. Soon two twin 2 kg depleted uranium slugs would be launched with astonishing force towards the surface of the planet. Captain Belrose hoped that this would be all that was needed to eliminate the infestation.

Earlier that day Lieutenant Madreaux had delivered the report from Fleet Command that an infestation had been detected by a trading vessel attempting to make contact with a group of stranded colonists. The captain hated the over-sized insects that now found their way into every dark nook and cranny in The Milky Way galaxy; he was also terrified of them. What the captain hid well was a one inch wide scar that diagonally crossed his torso, a badge he received from a mega spider in his earlier space marine days. Captain Belrose feared for the marines that he was about to send down to the planet's surface after the bombardment. Unfortunately there was only one way to ensure that the vile insect spawn were truly gone.

"Hey Kaplinski!" a booming shout competed with the deafening roar coming from the assault modules entry into the atmosphere.

"What do you want %$# stick!" Kaplinski called back to the metallic power armored face of the squad's resident jerk, Shark.

"When you gonna grow a set of balls and become a dragoon!" Shark's gruff and slightly raspy voice was unusually clear even over the multitude of sounds pummeling the squad members.

"Eh, ^%$# off Shark!" Kaplinski replied, although Kaplinski was truly terrified of the thought of being a dragoon. A power armored psychopath who charged in to the fray with nothing more than a plasteel sword and a small energy shield.

Shark busted out into a raucous laughter before finally choking on his own spit, "hmmm…just as I thought you ain't got no balls Kaplinski!"

With that the computerized voice of the assault modules AI chimed on. "Prepare for exfil in 10…9…8." Kaplinski rubbed his sweaty hands on his fatigues, one hand grasping the gauss sniper rifle. "7…6….5…4." Kaplinski thought one more time of his distant homeworld, wishing he would have just stayed home like his father had wanted and been a farmer. "3…2…1" Boom! The assault module crashed into the surface of the planet. The recoil terrain impact absorbers sprung back on both sides of Kaplinski. Kaplinski was successfully stabilized by not only a slowed thruster assisted descent, but also a highly sophisticated system of gravity dampeners and mechanical shock absorbers. The door to the module blasted off into the distance and blinding light poured in through the doorway. Kaplinski raised his hand, futilely trying to block the rays of the resident sun.

"Get some motha' ^%$# $%!" screamed Shark as the clang of his massive boot slammed into the metal grate of the center of the assault module. Dominic and Reyes, brothers from the Omega system, completed their ritual fist bumping and began heading for the door. Now it was Kaplinski's turn, already Shark was screaming out into the landscape, challenging anyone to come and fight him. Sooner or later he was going to get them killed. Kaplinski tenderly dropped out of the module flanked by the twins, their weapons ready for action, Shark, teeth bared guarded the front of the squad. Massive mountains surrounded the squad, piercing the clouds above. Thankfully they had landed on a plateau one kilometer from the foothills of the nearest peak. The surrounding vegetation looked healthy, but had an uncommon brown tinge to it. Upon closer inspection Kaplinski could make out several pock marks on the nearest mountain, indicating the site of The Phoenix Rising's bombardment. Curiously there was also a raspberry bush not but five meters away, and once again Kaplinksi thought of home, eating fresh raspberries from his mom's garden on a hot summer day. The raspberries were one of Kaplinski's favorite memories. Kaplinski shook the thoughts from his head, steeling his mind for the battle to come.

"Alright guys let's make this neat" ordered Dominic, the squad leader, who had a sharp mind and a calm demeanor. Dominic's dark pock-marked face and misshapen nose were a constant distraction during mission briefings, he was uncommonly ugly. Dominic's unfortunate features were not a product of genetics, but more of a rough childhood. Nova Yed Prior, Dominic's homeworld, was plagued by a blight which claimed more than half of the world's population and left the survivors with hideous scars across their body. The misshapen nose was a product of a drunken brawl. Reyes was lucky enough to be born after a cure had been found and so was able to escape the disfiguring effects of the blight. Reyes was a stocky well-groomed man with the certain suave altitude you see in high end cocktail bars, but in reality he was a crude man with far too many dirty jokes in his repertoire. Dominic waved his hand forward, and Shark, squad in tow, began to make his way towards the mountainside.

Kaplinski kept his rifle lowered, not wishing to tire himself out before the battle, but maintained a high state of vigilance. Kaplinksi had uncommonly good eyesight, and was well suited for a marksman role. The squad moved quickly but with control towards their target. Shark paved the way forward, his heavy metal boots making a squelching sound upon every step in the soft soil beneath. Reyes held his flamethrower, nicknamed The Fat Lady, at the hip-ready position, scanning our left flank. And finally Dominic moved his charge rifle with his head, as if his weapon was an extension of himself, making a figure eight of the right flank. Kaplinski felt confident that they would be warned well ahead of time of an assault from the right and so focused his attention mainly to the center, left, and rear. They made short work of the one kilometer walk to the mountain base, and were now confronted with the first signs of the ill-fated colony.

A five meter high wall lay crumbled, socketed to the side of the mountain, obvious signs of excavation surrounding the now ruined wall's rubble. Shark called out, "Woo-Eee, those gunnery boys sure are packing some heat." Dominic responded with a hint of apprehension in his voice, "That's not from the railgun Shark…something else knocked this wall down." An inhuman cry pierced the air, ending with a low bass-filled hiss. "Oh shit boss, I hate the sound of that" Reyes said barely being audible over the sound of his heat-resistant face mask. Shark and Dominic both began to scan the surrounding area frantically. They were still 150 meters from the ruined wall, and Kaplinski began to raise his weapon towards the dark crevice cut into the mountain. All at once a behemoth of a beast busted through the remains of the wall, claws outstretched and front legs reared up in a sign of aggression. The culprit of the blood-curdling cry now began to barrel down at the squad, but Kaplinski closed his eyes for a half-second, preparing for the perfect shot. The beast was gaining speed and Shark took a small unconscious step back. Kaplinski reopened his eyes, focused and ready, his weapon steady in front of him waiting for its moment to strike. The beast had covered 50 meters in a matter of seconds and Dominic, recoiling from shock, finally raised his weapon. Kaplinski let out his breath sighted at the upper part of the beast's opened mouth and fired. The shot rang clearly through the air, and half a second later the creature tripped and his momentum carried him forward his legs giving way in front of him. The shot had pierced the brain, and now the 4 meter high 3 meter wide arachnid was skidding across the ground head first before finally stopping 60 meters away from the squad. Shark looked back at Kaplinski, and Kaplinski knew that the dumb bastard's jaw must have been scraping the bottom of his face mask.

Dominic looked back at the sniper "Nice shot Kaplinski." Reyes responded to the miraculous shot with the sign of The Divinity, a spiral near the chest that ended in a fist, and Shark still stared dumbfounded. Kaplinski couldn't help but smile as the squad stood in astonishment at the incredible shot.

"Alright show's over guys we still got a job to do." Dominic said with lingering admiration in his voice. Dominic waved his hand towards the chitinous wreck, and began to speak into the comm console on his arm.

"Phoenix 6 this is Echo 6 Actual, we have made contact with one enemy paq….threat has been neutralized…over." A crackle of static and garbled words came back over the comm as they made their way to the corpse. Ten meters from the beast Dominic paused as if to collect his thoughts and surveyed the surrounding terrain. He seemed fixated on the light patch of trees that wrapped its way around the mountain to our north.

Reyes broke the silence "That looks like a megaspider."

"Yeah, a heavily modified one to…you ever see them with claws that big before?" Shark asked bluntly.

"Nah, man that thing been eating some serious kibble."

"Yeah, but still was no match for Kaplinski's pea-shooter!" Shark jogged over to the dead beast and slammed his over-sized metal fist into one of the eight eyes that now stared blankly, unblinking. Shark was rewarded with a jet of green juice in the face.

"Ah, what the*&%$!"

Reyes busted out into laughter and managed to say between breaths. "Man you gonna take her to dinner first!" With this Reyes slapped the side of The Fat Lady, feeling accomplished in his joke. Dominic shook his head and commanded. "Alright shut up! If there is one there is probably more…stay sharp!" Reyes immediately quenched his laughter and Shark finished cleaning the worst of the green slime from his face mask.

"Well looks like we have our way in." Shark said after a final flick of his wrist to disperse the slime from his power glove.

"No…let's try to find another way in that doesn't consist of a possible ambush." Dominic replied curtly.

"If you insist boss."

"I do…now squad form up. Let's head north thru them trees and see if we can't find the main door."

Dominic pointed his hand towards the copse of trees and the squad picked up its formation without missing a beat. As they put distance between themselves and the ruined wall, Kaplinski took another look back at the megaspider and shuddered.

Thirty minutes later, and after much tree and bush thrashing by a bitter Shark, the squad rounded a bend in the mountain. "Well would you lookee there." Shark pointed slightly to his right. "I think we found that entrance you wanted boss." Shark followed up.

Dominic held up his hand to halt the squad, and paused wordless for several seconds before dropping his hand again to move the squad forward. Shark set off on his brisk pace which caused Dominic to wave his hand parallel with the ground up and down to indicate for us to slow down, he also pointed his fingers at his eyes and then out towards the surrounding landscape. Kaplinski knew that this meant to be vigilant but it was entirely unnecessary since the squad was already on edge after their brush with the megaspider. Slowly the squad crept forward when the squawk of Dominic's comm echoed off the massive wall running along their right flank. Kaplinski could now make out the words just barely since the squad had tightened their formation.

"Echo 6 Actual this is Phoenix 5 Charlie what is your status over?"

Dominic brought the comm close to his face. "We have located the main entrance to the abandoned compound…attempting to find a way in…over."

"Roger, keep us posted over."

"Roger…out." Dominic brought his wrist down sharply and let out a puff of air, obviously annoyed by the interruption.

"Alright boys, a lot of these rim world outposts have trapped front doors with big signs pointing walk here…it won't kill you. So we need to blast this wall and make our way into the compound that way."

Immediately Shark grabbed a satchel from his hip and knelt down with it, closely inspecting its contents. Kaplinski noted Dominic's slight twitch of a smile at Shark's response, and Shark's massive smile at getting a chance to blow something up. After a few moments Shark brought up a makeshift bomb that looked like it had come straight from Woofen Combat Industries warehouse.

"Alright…time to blow some ^%$# up!" Shark exclaimed with excitement. Shark briskly walked over to the imposing wall and placed the bomb at its base. As quickly as he approached the wall he returned. "Alright boss, you tell me when, and this sucker will go sky high."

"Roger, but we need to go in quick and dangerous once this bomb goes." Dominic responded and after a short pause followed up his command. "Whatever is on the other side will be awake after we knock down the front door. Let's take up position on the wall stacked and ready for breach…just like we practiced boys." Dominic nodded his head as if to reassure his squad. Shark responded by punching his fists together and letting out a rough grunt. The squad moved with a mechanical grace. Shark bounded to a position on the wall 50 meters north of the planted explosive Dominic slammed into the wall directly behind Shark with Reyes and finally Kaplinski pulling rear security. The squad was ready for action and Dominic gave a slight tap on Shark's shoulder. Kaplinski seen a slight movement in Shark's shoulder and Boom! Debris shot from the wall as a cloud of dust and smoke jettisoned up into the air. Immediately Shark began to charge forward with the squad tightly following behind. Kaplinski felt the muscles in his stomach tighten as they approached the breach. Reyes tapped Kaplinksi's leg, and with deft quickness he swiveled his rifle around to face towards the right front of the squad.

Kaplinski scrambled over the rubble of the now exploded wall desperately trying not to trip while keeping the furious pace set by Shark. Fear settled in as they were engulfed by the dust cloud formed by the settling rubble. Kaplinski felt like they were walking for miles when they finally broke free of the oppressive dust screen. In front of him lay the ruins of a complex dug into the mountainside. The entire east side of the complex had caved in, leaving only jagged spears of construction material jutting out of the ground. The west side had fared better but still looked in desperate need of a makeover. Outside of the complex Kaplinski noticed a large flat area, pock-marked with craters, now overgrown with weeds and shrubs and a small dilapidated structure with steam billowing out of its broken roof seams. The squad maintained its pace and an eerie silence pervaded the atmosphere. Kaplinski could now make out what Dominic was aiming for, guiding Shark with a firm hand on his shoulder, an open door on the western part of the complex ominously invited the marines. Kaplinski felt a tremor go down his spine as he tried to pierce the darkness that lay inside of the doorway.

Shark slammed into the wall of the western compound three meters from the door, nearly toppling the structure with his weight. The remainder of the squad more gently hugged the wall once again stacked and ready for action. Kaplinski felt his body tense up with adrenaline and fear. The sort of emotional cocktail that overrides all other thought. Now it was entirely up to instinct and muscle memory if he were to survive this. Dominic held his hand up for what seemed like ages as he formulated a plan.

"Alright Reyes, I want you to torch this %$^&#*!" Dominic commanded. Reyes responded with a menacing chuckle as he took position in front of the door.

"Burn baby!" Reyes called out as he unleashed the fury of The Fat Lady. A stream of fire poured into the open doorway, and was immediately answered by several piercing cries from within. The terrifying sound from within the compound drowned out the roar of the flamethrower, and Kaplinski desperately wanted to drown out the sound by plugging his ears.

Dominic called out in a calm voice, "Kaplinski take up position thirty meters from the door diagonal firing line from Reyes." Dominic pointed in the general direction he wished for Kaplinski to go, and barked at Shark "you stick close to me! Let's show these bastards what Echo squad is made of!" Dominic's confident cry was enforced by Shark's warcry. Reyes was still torching the place when Shark called out in desperation "We got company boss!" Shark pointed towards a crack in the wall to the left of Reyes where small grub-like creatures with massive jaws crawled out. Dominic immediately responded with his charge rifle, slashing through the first scarab that passed the threshold of the crack. Kaplinski held his fire, maintaining his guard on the inferno in front of him. Dominic's charge rifle echoed against the mountainside as he poured fire onto the crack, now smothered in vile green juice. Kaplinski noted at least six dead scarabs surrounding the ominous hole. A support collapsed in the structure in front of Kaplinski as Reyes continued to torch the inside of the room. A terrifying wailing could be heard from within, a sound of pain and agony but yet not one that invoked sympathy in Kaplinski.

"Die!" Shark called out as his plasteel sword sliced a scarab in two. Several of the scarabs had made their way past Dominic's bombardment and were now encroaching upon Shark's position. Unfortunately for the scarabs Shark began to swing wildly, every cut more deadly than the last. Scarab after scarab was slaughtered by Shark's now green colored blade. A psychotic laugh began to emanate from Shark's power armor, only cut off by the grunts used to power his strokes.

"Reloading!" Reyes called out.

"*&^%, Kaplinksi guard that $# %*^& door!" Cried out Dominic a slight tremor in his voice. Kaplinski hoisted his rifle up ready to slay anything that poured out of the now burning structure. Shark was slashing through one last scarab when the front of the west compound exploded outward and two massive megaspiders burst through the opening. Kaplinski seen a vision from Hell as burning fangs and claws stood outstretched from the monstrosities. Reyes screamed in terror as one of the megaspiders brought his massive fangs down into Reyes armored torso, piercing through the plasteel plate and straight into his chest. The megaspider swung it's massive head vigorously from side to side until Reyes flew off the fangs with a morbid schlucking sound and slammed into a nearby rock bank.

"No!" Dominic cried out after seeing his brother mutilated, and began to focus fire the murderous megaspider. Kaplinski had only milliseconds to take his shot on the second megaspider which barreled towards him. Before he knew it another shot rang out from his rifle, slicing through one of the eyes of the abomination. The megaspider recoiled in pain, giving Kaplinski precious seconds to reload his cumbersome weapon. Kaplinksi had to kill the spider with his next shot. The adrenaline and fear he had felt earlier now seeked to fuel his meditative focus as he closed his eyes for a split second. Kaplinski saw a flash of home in the solace of his shuttered eyes and seen his mother smiling at him, a specter wishing him hope in the future. Kaplinski reopened his eyes steeled his focus and drove his next shot straight through the brain of the still recovering monster.

Meanwhile Shark was charging the first megaspider, desperately trying to save his squad leader from his reckless abandon. Shark ran at full bore, screaming as he charged. Five meters from the beast Shark jumped blade overhead; both hands grasping the handle attempting to drive the sword straight through the beast. Dominic watched in awe as Shark landed on the head of the spider his sword bored deep into the chitin plating. Shark wrenched the blade free bellowed another fearsome warcry and plunged the sword into the beast again. Shark hammered the spider with blow after blow until it finally shuddered; legs trembling and slammed into the ground.

Shark was still carving up the head of the arachnid when Kaplinski called out "Shark…I think you got em!"

Shark stopped looked up at Kaplinski, and began to laugh his familiar psychotic laugh. Kaplinski surveyed the carnage. Dominic stood motionless rifle pointing uselessly towards the ground, head turned towards his doomed brother. The fire inside the west compound still raged incessantly, but no more terrifying hellspawn could be seen. The megaspiders were their last hope Kaplinski thought, and their last hope had failed.

Captain Belrose was just sitting down for his meal, when Lieutenant Madreaux barged in. "Sir, I think you will want to see this." Captain Belrose looked up at the eager officer, sighed, and grabbed the blackened datapad from the Lieutenant's outstretched hand. Captain Belrose scanned the viewscreen and his mouth subconsciously opened at what he saw next:

 _Journal Entry #32_

 _I hate keeping this stupid journal, but the guys think it will keep me sane until I can get some prostheses to fix now missing feet. How the $%^ & does someone get both their feet blown off! I must be the stupidest man alive. _

_Journal Entry #33_

 _I drank too much beer last night trying to assuage my pain, and now I have to deal with vomit as well as phantom pains. Doctor says they won't go away soon, but if we could build a spaceship and get to a glitterworld all of my worries would go away. It's been more than a year since I crashed into this hunk of rock with nothing more than the clothes on my back. Honestly I am surprised I lived this long, and very surprised how far we have come. Although my feet were blown off by raiders, I have to say I could be sleeping in the cold with no one to feed me._

 _Journal Entry #34_

 _Hope came to chat with me today, and informed me of the progress they have made excavating the personal bedrooms. She excitedly told me how there would be a bed waiting for me once I got better. She is a sweet girl, big tits, but honestly she is as dumb as a rock. How the hell would she think that would cheer me up…when I get better? When the hell is that gonna happen, we barely had enough food to survive the winter and she thinks we will be able to buy a prostheses from the rip-off traders we get in this quadrant of space. Sometimes I wonder if the whole human race is so stupid._

 _Journal Entry #35_

 _Oh %$# ! Oh #$%! Oh &%$ ! No, no, no, no! Early in the morning I awoke to the sounds of explosions echoing down the hall, and a massive gun battle ensued. I could hear screams, and not just human ones. The fighting lasted the better part of twenty minutes when the last pop of a gun signaled the end. I eagerly awaited people to come flooding in with grievous wounds. *&%$, I was even willing to give up my bed! But no one has come, and it is 4 in the afternoon! I think they all died, whatever they found in there killed them all!_

 _Journal Entry #36_

 _Well it is now 12 AM and I can hear some furious scratching and clawing going on not far from the hospital entrance. I hear lots of skittering, almost like insects. I am pretty sure I am gonna die here. So here's to life. Hopefully whoever reads this will know that we made a good effort here, and that you will not forget us. Oh and by the way Hope wanted the colony to be called New Rome for some reason…so yeah maybe write it in a history book or something. I am gonna try to end this suffering before whatever is clawing at my door can eat me alive._


End file.
